Battlefield 6 and The Sims publishers EA are making another round of layoffs as they seek "to better meet fans’ changing needs", according to a report. The exact number of people affected is unknown, but apparently, there have been cutbacks across recruitment, IT, customer support, and the "trust and safety" division broadly responsible for encouraging EA players and streamers to be nice to each other. The losses allegedly include remote roles in the USA, and a few seasoned EA staff working in Hyderabad, India.

The news comes via Kotaku, who cite a mixture of anonymous sources and public postings. Among the departures I've confirmed myself is Diana Cornejo, former lead recruiter, who writes on LinkedIn that "after nearly eight years with EA, my time with the company has come to an end as part of the most recent round of layoffs."

Kotaku also say they've gotten hold of an email, sent out last Wednesday 18th June to EA’s Fan Care team by an internal department head, which references efforts to “adapt how we work to better meet fans’ changing needs". The alleged email continues that: “As part of this evolution, we are making or proposing to make changes to some roles, creating new roles, and moving certain work to different teams, locations, or service partners."

The news follows two major rounds of layoffs this year, with EA making cuts at Skate developers Full Circle in February, and across the Battlefield 6 team in March.

It's all happening against the backdrop of EA's acquisition by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's state investment fund, supported by a whopping $20 billion loan. Last September, sources told the Financial Times that they were hoping to pay off the debt by using generative AI to "significantly" cut EA's operating costs - a theory that seems risible, given that some of the biggest genAI companies are losing billions of dollars a year. I'm pretty sure in-game billboards aren't going to cover the gap.

The EA acquisition has attracted plenty of criticism, with union leaders branding it a bid to "pad investor pockets", while US senators call attention to Saudi Arabia's atrocious human rights record and, less persuasively, express anxieties about the country "controlling narratives about U.S. history and culture" via their investment wing.

EA declined to comment on the layoff reports, when approached by Kotaku. We'll go bother them ourselves.